Two days, that's how long Steve's been out, two painful days of sitting at his side, reading. I finished the entire Hunger Games series! Two days of having an all caffeine diet and not sleeping a wink. So an hour earlier, Sam came to me and told me to go home, not even ten minutes ago, I get a call from Sam telling me Steve is finally awake. He's testing me, Steve. He wants to see how much I'll spend on gas and coffee to see him awake.

Well I'm pretty sure that I've passed the test. I'm already on my way over there, I've or ably already broken several traffic laws, but I don't mind. Since my face has been on TV, Interpol will be at my door pretty soon. To drag me away and into a darker, deeper hole in the wall than where I was before. But I've had my run, I saved the world, found my purpose. I don't mind going back, now that I've done some good.

I finally get to the hospital and pull up in my Chevy, well Sam's Chevy. I rush out of the car and almost forget to lock it. I run into the elevator and assault the elevator button, thinking that it will get me up to floor 7 faster.

As soon as the doors open, I push past the nurses and doctors along the hallway that get in my way. I finally make it to Steve's room and hear music playing, Marvin Gaye, Trouble Man. I then hear the two talking, so I stand just outside the door and listen in. I don't usually eavesdrop, but I think I heard my name.

"Dahlia's on her way up. Did you know that she sat here for two days, waiting for you to wake up?" Sam says, a hint of jealousy in his voice.

"How could I? I was asleep remember?" Steve answers with a laugh, his voice groggy.

"Good to know your humour hasn't been damaged. But man what I would give to have a girl sit by my side for two days and after pushing her off a plane no less!" Sam says flabbergasted.

"We're friends. That's all. She's not some girl who's madly in love with me, just a friend who cares." Steve responds nonchalantly, not overthinking anything. Steve probably never overthinks anything. Well he is a dude.

"Huh, just friends?" Sam scoffs in response.

"Just friends" I say, butting in on the conversation.

Steve and Sam both sit up a little straighter when they hear my voice. For a second I see Steve's smile grow a little wider. I walk over to the side of the bed and pat Steve's blanket covered leg, "So you wait till I leave to wake up huh?" I laugh a little at the oddity of the situation.

Sam stands from the chair, waves at Steve and pats my shoulder. I even hear him whisper under his breath as he leaves, "Just friends, please"

I smile to myself, making a not of this moment, to hopefully use it against Sam some other time. I sit in the chair and turn it so I am completely facing the bed.

"You didn't have to come so quick" Steve laughs, "How many laws did you break?"

I shake my head and giggle, "Too many too count."

For some reason we both break out laughing hysterically. However, it stops when Steve grabs his stomach, laughing with a hole in your stomach probably isn't the best thing.

"You're supposed to help me get better, not help me break my stitches" he laughs again, but this time lighter and smaller.

All I do is beam back at him and smile weakly.

"I never apologized for what I did, I just really needed to do it alone, for myself." Steve says, biting his lip. I can tell he feels horribly guilty.

"I'm not going to say I forgive you, cause I won't until I can slap you without breaking your stitches. But I understand." I respond, avoiding his eyes as he looks at me, yearning for forgiveness. I then look up, those damn blue eyes! Then I notice his lips are pursed, like he's avoiding telling me something.

"What?" I ask, suddenly concerned.

"Um - I um - well..." Steve says, stumbling over his words.

"Steve spit it out, Interpol is going to be knocking down my door before you spit it out" I joke.

"That's um funny that you mentioned that--" Steve nearly whispered, avoiding my gaze.

I'm suddenly frightened, what is he talking about? Did he give me up? Give me up to the very people I've been running away from for the last 10 months? Wow I wasted two days sitting next to America's hero only to find out he's a traitor to his friends.

"I kind of asked Natasha to do a favour for me. Before you came of course. I couldn't let you hear it, cause well it's a surprise." Steve begins dodging my gaze once more, staring over my head and not looking at me. "Interpol won't be looking for you anymore. They can't lay a hand on you, they can never charge, nor convict you."

My jaw drops, literally. I'm flabbergasted, so much so that I'm speechless. I'm a horrible person, to think so harshly of Steve. He just did wonders, he cleared me. "But - But - How?" I stutter, not quite believing what I've been told.

"Let's just say Natasha wanted to prove her hacking skills to you, so she deleted your file, but not before she informed the British Government and Monarchy that you were a Shield operative, acting under Shield's order. Since Shield is Hydra which is a terrorist organization, they cleared your record. Under certain terms of course. You'll have to become an American citizen and never commit another crime on English soil. But that's pretty much it." Steve says shrugging slightly.

I couldn't hold it in, I jumped up from my chair, reached over and gave Steve the tightest hug ever! I kept squeezing until he grunted a bit in pain, even then I just loosened my grip slightly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you Steve." I whisper into his ear and pull away, straightening out myself as I sit back down.

As I sit, I grab his hand and squeeze it, "I'm glad I have a friend like you Steve. You're a real hero Captain America." I chuckle smiling at him.

Steve smiles back at me as he responds, "I'm glad we met too Dal. I wouldn't have had anyone I trust this much otherwise. Plus you're not too bad at being a hero either Goldenrod. A little shabby with your aim though." He chuckles and I think back to the quirky conversation on the bridge.

"Now you're getting two slaps" I respond shoving his shoulder softly.

Im lucky to have a man like this as a friend, and as a friend I truly trust. Without having that brief stalker moment, I wouldn't have met some of the most amazing people that I now have in my life. I wouldn't have any friends, no matter how pathetic that sounds. I will never let anything get between us.

Hmmm a hint of foreshadowing in this chapter? I think so. What are your predictions for the next two books? Would you guys like to see another two? How did you like the story overall? What can I do better for the future? Let me know! Thanks for reading! Look out for the Epilogue!